September 28, 2007

Howrey Says Olé

Howrey is adding a little Spanish flavor to its overseas offices, though siestas probably won’t be replacing the billable hour any time soon. The antitrust and IP focused firm announced last week that is opening up shop in Madrid, adding the Spanish capital to a collection of European offices that already includes London, Paris, Brussells, Munich, and Amsterdam.

Announced last week, Howrey is taking over the Spanish boutique Martínez Lage & Asociados. The merger will be finalized in the beginning of next year, and the Spanish firm will be integrated into Howrey at that time. “Back in ‘99 we decided we needed to be more global in scope for both IP and competition,” says Robert Ruyak, the firm’s managing partner. “Spain wasn’t the highest priority at first, but we always had our eye on Madrid.”

The firm had befriended the attorneys at Martínez Lage before on various European antitrust matters, and when the Spanish authorities began restructuring the country’s antitrust laws, both firms saw an opportunity to grow.

Santiago Martínez Lage will head the new shop, which is 11 attorneys strong, though Ruyak predicts the number will grow shortly. The firm plans to add a high level patent litigation practice in the next few months and is considering further expansion, possibly in Asia.